Against all Odds
by AmberLeaves
Summary: Kaoru and Kenshin come from two very different worlds. One hates court life, one lives it. With the odds stacked against them, what are the chances?
1. Prologue

Kenshin stood proudly next to his father, a middle aged man with streaks of gray in his hair, on a cliff overlooking a wide expanse of land. Above the grassy plains of the farmers and the bustling city, the clear blue sky traveled to the sparkling water of the ocean. Boats rested on the water, rocking in movements that seemed miniscule. The sharp cry of seagulls echoed faintly in the distance as a cool breeze stirred Kenshin's long red hair.

As the two stood upon the high cliff, his father spoke, words echoing in his broad chest before leaving his mouth. His huge size wasn't passed on to his only son, however. Kenshin looked small to the point of being petite next to his father.

"One day," he said, sweeping his hand towards the land. "All this will be yours. I expect you will destroy all my hard work," he added almost mournfully. "But this land is rightfully inherited as only heir to my lands when I leave." He gave a dramatic long-suffering sigh. "Your stupidity wasn't inherited from my side of the family." He added as an uncalled for afterthought.

Almost instantly, Kenshin rolled his eyes and relaxed his shoulders, inhaling the faint wisps of the slightly salty ocean breeze, eyes closing in content bliss. "I'll pay the due to the emperor like a good little boy every year, I promise," he said with a lazy crack of his neck. He pried open one eye to stare at his annoyed father. "And you have a good ten-fifteen years still ahead of you. The way you drink will be the death of you." Hiko snorted. Kenshin glared at him before remarking casually,"The women are coming over again."

Hiko groaned, and for the slightest moment, he looked utterly terrified before composing his face into an uncaring scowl. "Damn! I told that woman to stop setting them on me. Tell them I jumped off a cliff." He told Kenshin. With that, he vanished, moments before a simpering horde of court ladies stampeded, with giggles and tiny heels, past Kenshin, leaving the unpleasant odor of too much perfume in their wake. He shook his head as he started walking toward the local tavern, grinning at the brilliance of his own mother. She often set these kinds of things up just to purposely annoy her husband. Many a time Kenshin faced the wrath of his mother when he forgot an important dinner party or such, and by the days end, handkerchiefs would be falling out of his pockets and the smell of rank flowers hanging on to his skin.

He shuddered as he swiftly jumped over a low brick wall, thinking of the horror of being eternally bound to one of those gossiping court ladies.

He would never, ever, marry that a woman like that.

* * *

"Fuck off, bastard!" Kaoru yelled one more time as she punched the drunk straight across the jaw and sent him flying out the tables and out the door. The usual chatter never ceased in the bar as Kaoru stomped back to her seat, fists clenched tightly at her sides, mouth spouting off the mot profane curses while she took another swig of her drink. This happened at least three or four times every week now.

Lately, Kaoru's mood had been dark, to say the least. Sano disappeared from town just a month ago, and having her best friends reassuring presence while they snuck in a drink kept most groping drunk-asses away. This time the job was in some tiny island country, according to a grimy note she found stuck between her front door's cracks. Even worse, her aunt finally decided that she needed to shape up and become a proper lady.

She scowled, thinking of her deceased parents. Her father married a respectable woman, in her opinion. Her mother could be spitting fire one second and sewing embroidery the next, most probably just to satisfy her older sister.. Her aunt, Megumi, was really very kind at heart, but when growing up, she had been taught court etiquette and all her nurses believed firmly in true lady-like behavior. Usually Kaoru's mother hid in the kitchen and shot spitball at the kitchen chefs while these classes took place, Megumi sometimes even covering for her.

Her aunt always ignored their marriage, though, but she stubbornly tugged Kaoru into a choking corset and revealing dress every year or two and took her to some fancy ball for a night. All the men there were fat pigs who stared at her breasts the whole time or rich frail men who grinned and leered at her like she was a grand prize to a contest. In the words of Megumi, she had 'developed fantastically' and could marry off to any man she chose if she wanted to.

Megumi nagged her about true love and physical support even more than before, now that she just met the perfect marriageable age. She almost dreaded going home, but the way her stomach growled demanded that she eat something.

Kaoru glared even more deeply at the mug of her beer, swigged the last drops into her mouth, and stormed out of the bar, intent on making her way to the river to wash off the smell of smoke and alcohol from her body.

She would never, ever, marry a man like that.

* * *

Okay, I know I haven't written in a long time, and that was super short, but Im getting back into the zone now. Finally. 


	2. Chapter 1

The warm rain pitter-pattered gently on the windowsills, falling almost lethargically over closed shutters and roofs. The once calm and gentle river that flowed by the houses flowed quickly and ruthlessly, dangerous currents frothing yellow-white in a spray of foam.

At this time of night, all the windows were shut tightly, except for a lone light that seeped through the curtains of an attic room to settle softly on the roof. Rivulets of water ran down the shingles as thunder rumbled distantly, a flash of lighting sometimes following shortly afterwards.

She hated thunderstorms.

If the resident of that attic room had peeked through his curtains, they would have met an eerie sight. A woman, drenched with water, stood beneath the luminous lamppost that glowed like a bundle of tiny fireflies. She stared dully, unblinkingly, at the rusting old street sign that no longer identified the street, oblivious to the torrents of rain that fell upon her back.

How ironic that it had rained today. She remembered with aching clarity that the sky had cried twelve years ago, on this very day too. Shuddering as she closed her eyes, she could almost hear the screams of her mother, could almost feel the blood fall almost caressingly on her face, so different from the cruel sword that shed that blood.

This river roared in answer to her pain and her eyes snapped open. Kaoru averted her eyes from the sign to stare fondly at the water that had so easily become part of her. She wept there often when the guilt of her parents death became too much for her, finding time at night to let the calming sound of waves lull her to sleep, the open air and grass much more appealing than a warm bed or a roof over her head.

With one last look, she turned around, wiping water from her eyes quickly. Megumi would not be pleased to see her drenched to the bone, but at least the rain wasn't ice-cold.

The street sign swung in the wind, creaking sadly behind her.

* * *

Kenshin frowned wearily at the papers sprawled across his desk, setting his papers down and rubbing his temples in an effort to stop the horrible pounding in his head.

He had been working for the whole evening and into the night, the rain providing a soothing comfort to the swirl of words that seemed to move around as he stared harder at the tiny letters. Hiko had demanded that he translate every word in the forty-page report, including the small font that decorated the bottom of almost every page. Luckily, he was working in his sister's attic, which made thing fractionally easier on his strained mind.

Tomoe lived in the outskirts of town, working at a calligraphy shop just a couple buildings away from the tavern that Kenshin frequented. They served the best home-brewed beer in the district. Often Kenshin would take the closest thing to a break and spend a day or two in the attic of his sister's house. Tomoe always glanced at him curiously when he headed straight to the attic stairs instead of the guest bedroom, but she never questioned his actions, instead bringing her attention back to the current book she adored at the moment.

Something about the constant smell of book pages and white plum blossoms from the blooming tree that wafted up from the ground floor relaxed his muscles and allowed him to really, actually sleep instead of drifting somewhere between consciousness and half-sleeping.

Tomoe often fretted over the darkening purple circles under his eyes, making him herbal sleeping tea every night he spent at her house. Hiko apparently noticed too, since he had unofficially banned him from coming back to the estate until the circles disappeared completely. At Kenshin's horrified reaction, Hiko also reluctantly sent the report with him so he wouldn't spontaneously combust from absolutely no work. He still expected only the best quality work from his only son, though. That, he concluded days before Kenshin's departure, came from his side of the family.

The packet only lasted one night before, over Hiko's morning coffee, it was sent back for his approval.

He briefly glanced through the pages before nodding at the messenger. He took another sip of his coffee before turning to his wife.

"That man needs a wife."


End file.
